Hours after taking the oath of office, Biden signed several executive orders, including one requiring the wearing of masks and social distancing in all federal buildings, on all federal land and by federal employees and contractors, as well as on airlines, trains, and transit systems traveling between states.

However, the 46th president appeared at the Lincoln Memorial without a mask during his inauguration celebration Wednesay night. In addition, several members of the Biden family similarly ignored COVID precautions.

"We had President Biden ... him and his family, they're not wearing after mandating and requiring for people to wear masks on federal property, he and his family were not wearing masks out," McCain said.

"So again, I think the rules for thee, not for me that has been going on for a long time in the Trump administration, and now you're seeing President Biden, I was really disappointed that he wasn't wearing a mask."

It came hours after he signed an executive order mandating masks on federal property.

In a video clip of Biden standing at the foot of the memorial for ex-President Abraham Lincoln, another person stood near him as music played.

In her second briefing on Thursday, the new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged questions and offered a bizarre excuse for Biden breaking his own rules.

A Fox News reporter asked Psaki why Biden and his family members were not masked at all times at the memorial.

"He was celebrating an evening of a historic day in our country, and certainly he signed the mask mandate because it’s a way to send a message to the American public of the importance of wearing masks, saving tens of thousands of lives."

Psaki added that White House staff take numerous precautions daily, including Covid-19 testing and mask wearing.

The Fox News reporter then asked if Biden was setting a good example for Americans who watched him on federal land.

"I think the power of his example is also the message he sends by signing 25 executive orders, including almost half of them related to Covid," Psaki said.

"Yesterday was a historic moment in our history, he was inaugurated as President of the United States, he was surrounded by his family, we take a number of precautions but I think we have bigger issues to worry about at this moment in time," she told reporters.

But the new president’s conservative critics slammed him for apparently being a hypocrite.

"Does Joe Biden's new executive order mandating masks on federal property not apply to Joe Biden while he's on federal property?” tweeted Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing organization Turning Point USA.